The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1887-06-23
THE.WHEAT MARKET.

=
. The New ..Yerk Tribune; in 2
thoughtful editorial on the collapse
Of the wheat markets says:
There isnot tie least Occasion forSurprise.
In the dramatic collapse of the wheat corner
at Chicago. The nominal value of wheat
in stock changed about IS, 0OSeeO' I'M q single
day, while on le00OV,0OO bushels sod at.
Chicago and $1,000 900 bushels at New-York1
ina single.day 1.-The change in nominal value
. involved the transfer OF n far larger -suEpI
from one.set of spectators to another. But
there has been NIB reason toexgectany other
results. The clique calculated rightly, ini
regard to- the large. foreign demand for
wheat, but from the first ;miscalcplated
wildly in regard to the quantity available
in hiscountry for export. .,.,.
The preliminary reports in. May has just
been ,iss aea. 1t shows that s.s79. 225 bushels
of wheat and 75S.4Sl barrels. OF -four went
Abroad equivalent to- L, 2s2. $50 bushels Of
wheat, against n,4Ss,SSr IN the same month
last year. sFhe average value Of the wheat
exported was 9i.S cents per bnshef,i which
proves that the recent quotatioh oks2t sS
cents for cash wheat at Chicago.was purely.
fictitious. In May, when the clique was
holding the price there at IS cents, more or
less, nota .eushslx could pay charges to the
seaport ;andi vet millions of bushels were
shipped TO foreign coudtriesi In part by the
clique itself and at loss, in order to realize
money for carrying the constantly increas
:. Ing supply offered. But looking at actual
=. exports 1t appearsr that the net. exports Of
wGeat int ten smoa tbs SprscedinE May had
amounted to l25,l67,75s bushels,r1sur includ.
fed $50 thai with ahs May:shipments. foreign
markets hae thkeg from us 49,, 46O. ls1 bush.
;els, against SI764. 400 bushels for eleven
months Of the previous year. Even now ex.
porters are buying considerable quantities
whenever the market yields.
The'fatalterreraip this. speculation was In
underestimatfng She Quantity available in
thi country. Months ago 1t was shown, H.
letters published by The Tribune, that in
. cludinSthe large Quantity broughto> er from
the previous year, the surplus available for
export up to July LIST woald be about 1888 ,000s
600 bushels. That meant, Of course, that the
quantity of wheat in the hands OF farmers
and dealers in the. interior was greater by
many million bushels than the clique esti.
mated. They chose 10 test the accuracy Of
their estimates by stalking m .Ilions OF their
own and millions borroNel+s The result Is q
collapse, In which many innocent persons
suffer severely with those who are RESPONSE
BILE for maintaining an artificial market,
Wheat hasskept coming in vast quantities.
and-even ON the day oflhs breakit was said
that 1000 car loads were to bereceived at
.. Chicago, Wilde 100000 bushels :orl more
sawafted storage. The visible supply exceed
ed 40 OOO. 900 bushels, besides all the wheat in
farm ers' hands and country elevators, and
.,ah'the:AOar on hand. .
:. rrne i'm IA diate eEectof this collapse is TO
'serfree some money which has been en-.
ployed in wheat speculation, but not nearly
so much as is usually imagined. The guam
tity of wheat In commercial markets has not
,ch9ngeh since: last Sautf day; ;apd the only
difference fn-the amount 6f-moneyrequired
to carry that accumulation is due to the de-
cline in price,, The substantial consequence
OF the great specification is thatlhe country
will have to carry over. at q heavy charge to
its financial resources, about 500OO,Co0 bush.
sels OF wheat, much of which might have been
; 'fnark eled abroad had prices been allowed TO
find their natural level. Most Of this surplus
has been transferred from farmers TO dealers
. I'M chicago and 9th er commercial cities, and
So hasI d beiearried by the reso1yces Of COM
mercial centres. The effect will be seen in
less demand for the new wheat which farm
reare about to offer. 10y !,
The outlook is not encouraging for
the opening price of the fall crop.
What-speculation may do in fixing
theiprice ist purely. .prelAematic, but
in healthful market it would not
seem that wheat would sell much
above 80 cents in Chicago, provided
there be a fair crop, which leaves
little margin of profit to the Central
Minnesota wheat.grower. 1t is esti-
:mated'that there are 10000 bushels
still on the line of this division of the
Manitoba road, principally in the
elevators, and if otherisections of the
Northwest have equal stocks there
: is a large surplus to be taken care of
which will serve to depress the price.
The HERALD has no desire to
! abear'sthe market-gpitathe reverse,
it would be pleased to see wheat sell
right here for dollar bushel-but
It calls attention SaS'this time to the
state of affairs for the purpose of i'm.
pressing its readers with the neces-
sity of diversifying farming. The
sooner wheat, as the main reliance
of our farmers, is relocated to- the
shades the better. The only substan.
tial and safe pelfey,for the farmers of
this vicinity is to devote their. cap
,,ital and energies to something be-
sides raising wheat.